Kari Lake—a QAnon adherent and election denier who was the Republican nominee in Arizona's gubernatorial race—is not taking her election loss well, and a recent tweet she wrote is only adding to her troubles.
News outlets reported this week that Lake officially lost the gubernatorial race to Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Secretary of State whom Lake threatened with imprisonment on baseless and unspecified allegations of criminality related to the 2020 election.
Shortly after the election was called, a bitter Lake issued the following tweet:
"Arizonans know BS when they see it."
You can see the tweet below.
\u201cArizonans know BS when they see it.\u201d— Kari Lake (@Kari Lake) 1668482750
The tweet is ironic given that the results show that Arizonans had had enough of Lake and her own brand of BS, which made Arizona a hotbed for election fraud conspiracies, many of them furthered by Lake herself.
Lake's loss was yet another sign that those who've backed former Republican President Donald Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 general election was stolen were being repudiated at the ballot box.
The overwhelming majority of Trump's chosen candidates failed to make traction on Election Night, which did not result in the "red wave" Republican legislators and pollsters had counted on and were seen as a referendum on how much sway Trump and his rhetoric still have over the American electorate.
Lake and her supporters, for their part, alleged wrongdoing right to the bitter end, even going so far as to demand the military step in and redo what they alleged is a "false" election as she continued to fall behind Hobbs.
But Hobbs prevaled and as far as Twitter users were concerned, Lake's tweet was an instant self-own.
\u201cKari Lake\u2019s explanation for her election loss is... surprisingly self-aware?\u201d— Seth Abramson (@Seth Abramson) 1668523764
\u201cprobably the most astute thing she has said.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1668485671
\u201cClearly. That's why they rejected you.\u201d— Rick Wilson (@Rick Wilson) 1668488361
\u201cYes they sure do know BS when they see it.\nArizonans voted against BS\nThey don't like election deniers, conspiracy nuts & clearly saw you riding the Trump train. \nNo worries, the stench is clearing, BS being cleaned up.\u201d— Lisa (@Lisa) 1668492444
\u201cSeems like they did.\u201d— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1668513192
\u201cClearly she was right about this \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f \ud83d\udc4b\ud83c\udffd \ud83d\udca9\u201d— The Tennessee Holler (@The Tennessee Holler) 1668515404
\u201cYes they do. That\u2019s why they voted against you!\u201d— Ruben Gallego (@Ruben Gallego) 1668517845
\u201cThe only TRUTH @KariLake has told! And that is why you lost! Americans don\u2019t want anymore BS and we don\u2019t want Trump\u201d— Papo (@Papo) 1668526382
\u201cShe\u2019s showing off that BDE (Bitterly Defeated Energy).\u201d— George Hahn (@George Hahn) 1668485404
Although Lake continued to attack the electoral process, calling Arizona’s elections system a “laughingstock” and accusing Arizona's election officials of intentionally slowing down the process of tallying votes, she was shut down by Maricopa County's head of elections, who called her claims "offensive."
According to The New York Times, Lake is currently weighing whether to concede or launch a legal challenge, which has "set off a high-stakes tug of war within the Republican Party," which is currently torn between Trumpist election deniers and established leaders who have urged her to accept her loss.